Anti-Putin protesters in Bolotnaya case sentenced

Defendants in the case of mass riots on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012. Source: Sergey Savostianov / RG

Seven activists will spend up to four years in prison.

On Monday, Feb.
24, the Zamoskvoretskiy District court in Moscow announced its verdict in the
case of eight opposition activists accused of involvement in mass protests on
Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012.

The judge began to announce the court’s
verdict on the previous Friday, but managed to read only part of the lengthy
document before the court closed for the day.

The complete verdict stated that the
accused were participants of the March of Millions protest on Bolotnaya Square
on May 6, 2012 - an event that ended in clashes with the police – and were
guilty of using violence against representatives of the authorities and
participating in a mass riot.

Initially, 12 defendants were on trial, but
four of them were released under last December’s amnesty in honor of the 20th
anniversary of the Russian constitution. The eight remaining defendants faced
charges that included attacking police officers and therefore did not qualify
for the amnesty.

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One defendant, Alexandra Naumova received a
suspended sentence of 3 years and 3 months; but the rest will spend time behind
bars: Andrei Barabanov – 3 years and 7 months; Sergei Krivov 4 years; Yaroslav
Belousov – 2 years and 6 months; Artem Savelov – 2 years and 7 months; and
Stepan Zimin, Denis Lutskevich and Alexander Polikhovich – 3 years and 6 months
each.

The damage caused by the actions on Bolotnaya Square has been evaluated
at 28 million rubles ($800,000 dollars). Zimin’s and Savelov’s sentences were
shorter than the minimum penalty for their crime stipulated in the Russian
Penal Code due to their health problems. All eight have already served part of
their sentences.

The prosecution had asked for sentences of
between five and six years, experts and observers called the sentences lenient
and appropriate.

Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Council for
the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights under the office of the
Russian President said: “The sentences handed down by the court have proved
much more lenient than what the prosecution had asked for,” adding that he
hoped the sentences would eventually be commuted.

“I hope that these sentences
will be reduced even further on appeal. The fact that each defendant has
received a different jail term demonstrates that the judge considered each case
individually.”

Igor Bunin, head of the Center of Political
Technologies, agreed that the sentences were more lenient that expected. “I
would describe such an approach as herbivorous rather than cannibalistic,”
Bunin said.

Sergei Markov, head of the pro-Kremlin
Institute for Political Studies, also agreed with the court’s decision,
describing the jail terms as reasonable and appropriate, "especially given
their refusal to admit their guilt.”

Markov went on to call the activists
"the Maidan ilk, only in a less advanced stage," referring to the
violent protests in neighboring Ukraine. “The events on May 6 were mass
rioting, pure and simple. Some are already trying to portray these people as
heroes, although they clearly aren’t.”

Markov, like Bunin, said there was little
chance of the verdict triggering any further rioting, although he did not rule
out smaller protests.

According to the Moscow police department,
about 200 people were detained outside the court when the verdict was being
read out. Among them were opposition activists Alexei Navalny, Nadezhda
Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, Petr Verzilov, and Ilya Yashin. More than 50
people were detained outside the court last Friday.

Bunin said that although some protestors
were detained, “I don't expect anything more serious than that."

According to some reports, Russian
opposition activists were planning to stage a “people’s gathering” on
Manezhnaya Square in Moscow in the wake of the verdict.

The Moscow mayor’s
office has said, however, that any unauthorized events will be broken up by the
police.

“The municipal authorities have not been
notified of any events, but we are aware that a gathering is planned. We have
already passed on this information to the police, who will prevent any attempts
to hold an unauthorized event,” said Vasiliy Oleynik, deputy head of the department
for regional security of the Moscow municipal government.